Dirty Work

A Novel

Nancy Mullion, an obstetrician-gynecologist whose botched surgery has put a patient in a life-threatening coma, must face a medical tribunal to determine if she can continue to practice medicine. Nancy's fears about both her patient's chances for survival and whether she will be "undoctored" are made palpable to the reader. Throughout four weeks of intense questioning and accusations, this physician directly confronts for the first time her work as an abortion provider--how it helps the lives of others but takes a heavy toll on her own.

"Nancy Mullion is a skilled OB/GYN who also performs abortions; after a patient in her care nearly dies, she is suspended from her duties at her London hospital. With little to do but worry about her patient and her career, she spends her time considering her path thus far, from childhood on. A reflective, introspective novel, Dirty Work addresses a controversial topic and provides unusual perspectives on it -- both of an ambivalent practitioner and of those who will judge Nancy's actions at her hearing without having performed the work themselves. Publishers Weekly calls this fiction debut from the author of the medical memoir Direct Red a 'medical and moral tour de force.'" Fiction A to Z September 2014 newsletter http://www.libraryaware.com/996/NewsletterIssues/ViewIssue/2dbae5ef-cde5-4f93-a2f5-cfacfb2ad783?postId=71b0a692-441d-4c8e-a48f-1fd8a76ad5ce